


The Sea is Beautiful, Isn't It?

by froginalog



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, College Student Armin Arlert, College Student Eren Yeager, Eremin - Freeform, F/F, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Sex, M/M, Modern Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan, Mutual Pining, Off-screen Relationship(s), Piercings, Pining, Roadtrip, Romance, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, armin just wants to see the ocean :'), jeanmarco, undecided on the ending, yumikuri
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-17 03:14:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29835156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/froginalog/pseuds/froginalog
Summary: Growing up in a small town, Eren and Armin have never seen the ocean. For the summer before their Sophomore year of college, the two plan to take a road trip to see it, along with some friends.
Relationships: Armin Arlert/Eren Yeager, Krista Lenz | Historia Reiss/Ymir, Marco Bott/Jean Kirstein
Comments: 4
Kudos: 22





	The Sea is Beautiful, Isn't It?

The water was cool to the touch, but not in an uncomfortable way. His feet gently sunk into the sand as the waves lapped at his ankles, drawing him in further, further. Soon he was waist-deep, shorts soaked. The sky above was just as dark a blue as the ocean, and the stars reflected onto the water like glitter. There was never a sight so beautiful. And the smell, it was like—

“Armin.” It was hard to differentiate this low, breathy voice from the wind in his ears. “Hey, _Armin_.” A sudden force pushed him backwards, though just before he hit the water—

Armin inhaled sharply and jolted awake. As his eyes opened, the beaming face hovering over him came into focus. 

“You can’t sleep in if you want breakfast,” the boy warmly reminded. 

Armin groggily sat up, rubbing his eyes as he did so. “Sorry, yesterday really wore me out.”

“Of course it did.” The brunette crossed his arms over the couch armrest. “You were running after every animal in sight, trying to get a picture. Professor Hange would be proud,” he chuckled.

Armin turned to face him and gave an embarrassed smile. “What time is it?” he asked with a yawn.

“Eleven. Food bar is open for another half hour, but we have to check out by noon.”

“Right.” Armin thought for a moment. “Could you just grab me some pancakes? I’ll get our stuff packed.”

He nodded with a faint smile, stood upright, and headed for the door, lightly swiping a button on the coffee-maker as he went by.

“Eren?”

The boy turned as he unlocked and opened the door. “Yeah?”

A small pause. “Keycard.” Armin nodded in the direction of the counter where the near-forgotten keycard lay. 

“Oh.” Eren blushed as he swiped it from the counter, giving Armin a tight-lipped, awkward smile before closing the door behind him. 

Armin sat still, listening to the sound of Eren’s heavy footsteps fade before finally lifting himself up from the couch with a wide stretch. The coffee-maker let out a _brr_ before trickling out a smokey liquid and aroma. As he waited for the pot to fill, Armin stepped into the bathroom and splashed the cool tap water across his face, patting himself dry with one of the soft, white, hotel towels. Looking in the mirror, he ran his fingers under his eyes, noticing dark circles. It had been a long few days of driving and hiking. Lazily, Armin applied serums and moisturizers, and tousled his short, pale yellow hair before walking back out into the room. He then approached the bed, unmade and littered with laundry. 

“Unsurprising,” Armin teasingly murmured. He scooped Eren’s duffle bag from the floor and began packing the clothes slowly and neatly. 

When finished, Armin zipped the bag closed and carried it to the door, rewarding himself with hot coffee. Eren had set out two sugar packets, which he generously stirred in as he walked back over to the windowsill. 

The night before had been hot, and so the windows were left open, and despite the warmth of the morning sun, the heavy breeze from the city sent chills down Armin’s neck and back. Holding his coffee tightly, Armin looked around the room for his sweater before disappointedly realizing he had left it in the car. 

He remained by the window for a few moments as he finished his coffee, shivering as he enjoyed the sounds of the morning city. Another gust of wind pushed into the room, blowing his hair back. Now shaking beyond discomfort, Armin set his mug down and reached for the hotel comforter. As he lifted it, Armin found he had missed some of Eren’s clothes, including a soft, navy blue jacket. He reached out and touched the sleeve, pausing before slowly bringing it around his shoulders and pulling his arms through. 

As Armin zipped the jacket up and over his nose, he slowly spaced out, hearing last night’s conversation in his head.

_“Only one bed…”_

_“You can totally fit, you’re so small!”_

_“Eren I’m telling you, the bed isn’t big enough.”_

_“Fine then, I’ll take the couch.”_

_“No way, you won’t fit.”_

_“Watch me!”_

Armin laughed to himself as he recalled the sight of Eren attempting to get comfortable on the two-cushioned couch. It had taken him at least fifteen minutes to convince Eren to take the bed.

The door lock beeped, clicked, and opened, filling the room with the smell of maple syrup. It wasn’t until the door clicked shut that Armin’s head jolted out of his cheerful trance. Eren set a plastic bag on the counter and poured himself the last of the coffee. 

“What are you standing there for? Your food’s over here,” he prompted. A few seconds passed with no response, and Eren turned his head to meet Armin’s eyes.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Uhm.. yeah,” Armin looked away, rubbing the back of his neck. “Sorry.”

Eren, noticing the jacket, breathed out a quiet laugh. “Your pancakes are getting cold.”

Armin hesitantly walked over, untying the bag and grabbing the box of pancakes. The room fell silent aside from the rustle of the plastic. 

Eren nudged Armin, pointing to one of the maple syrup packets in the bag. Armin gave him an unspoken ‘go ahead.’ Eren grinned, messily squeezing the syrup into his carryout box before dropping onto the couch. He reached his hand out to grab a mug that wasn’t there.

“Oh, hand me my coffee?” he prompted Armin.

“Mm.” Armin finished cutting his pancakes, grabbing the mug before sitting cross-legged next to Eren. “Here.” Armin passed Eren the mug with his free hand as the two of them wolfed down their food, pausing slightly as their fingers lightly touched. 

“Your hands are cold,” Eren remarked between bites. Armin remained silent, thoughts short of a reply. 

As soon as his food was finished, Eren got up to close the window. He stood there for a while, aware of Armin throwing out the food cartons and packets behind him but transfixed by the morning blue. “Ah, we’re still so far from the coast. So much driving to do” he remarked in a tired tone. 

“Sleep alright?” 

“I’m surprised _you_ did. Ymir and Historia got _two_ noise complaints last night.”

“One of them was from you, wasn’t it?”

“Maybe.” Eren chuckled jokingly. “I told them not to watch a horror movie so late.” He looked over to see Armin struggling on his tiptoes to reach his bag from the closet shelf. 

“Why.. so.. high.. _up_!” Armin’s fingers barely touched the bag before he slumped down in defeat. “Ere-” Armin nearly fell sideways as Eren nudged him out of the way, reaching the bag with ease. His shirt lifted just enough to reveal his toned, tanned abdomen, the sight of which caused Armin’s face to immediately flush a bright pink. His eyes shot downward in avoidance. 

“Here.” Armin’s eyes shot back up to meet Eren’s own blank gaze, now towering above him. _What’s he standing so close for?_

“Mm, thanks.” Armin quickly ducked away into the bathroom and closed the door. “I just have to pack these. Make sure Ymir and Historia are awake?” 

“Su-ure,” Eren answered in a songvoice. As the door shut behind him once again Armin let all of the weight from his tense shoulders fall with a deep sigh of relief. 

_What’s wrong with me?_ Armin looked at his reflection in the mirror as he haphazardly threw soap bottles and amenities into the two toiletry bags. “Idiot.” he flipped the lightswitch off and carried the last of the bags to the door. 

**𓆏𓆏𓆏𓆏𓆏**

Eren knocked on the door for the fifth time.

“Oi. I know you’re in there.”

The hallway remained quiet enough for Eren to hear faint whispers. He leaned with his back against the door, kicking softly with his heel.

Eren’s eyes widened as he heard the click of the door unlocking. Suddenly there was nothing holding him up as it swung open, and with a hard thud and groan Eren hit the floor. 

“Ymir!” a higher pitched voice sounded from the back of the room.

“Perv got what he deserved. Trying to sneak a peek?” Ymir sarcastically chided. She loomed over him boldly in her boxers and sports bra. And if that wasn’t telling enough, remnants of cherry lipstick were smeared lightly across her cheek. 

Eren quickly sat up before Ymir could watch his face redden. “You’re the one fooling around right before we have to leave,” he poutishly muttered. 

“Bag’s already packed. Don’t worry” she smirked. “We’ll be done soon.” Eren awkwardly lifted himself from the floor as Ymir took her foot to his back, pushing him out. As the door closed Eren turned to head back only to find Armin waiting outside the door. 

“Take these?” he handed Eren two duffle bags and headed down the hallway. Eren followed closely behind, not quite side by side as they walked to the elevator. 

“Are they ready to leave?”

“Uh.. yeah, almost. They’ll meet us by the car.” The elevator dinged and opened, and the boys stepped inside. The silence between them hung thick in the air as the elevator slowly closed and started downward. Eren watched as Armin rocked from heel to toe quietly, his bag hitting his legs as he swung it. _Has he always looked this stiff?_

The elevator stopped and dinged again, opening to a large group of people who shuffled in, filling the elevator. Armin clumsily shuffled towards Eren as they were pressed towards the back.

“Room for one more?” As the horde pushed even further in, Armin struggled to find space to stand. He could feel Eren’s breath against his neck as the group shuffled around; almost close enough to touch, carefully balanced between the stranger in front of him and his best friend. 

Abruptly, Armin felt hands wrap around his torso, and he was pulled against Eren. He stood tense for a moment before relaxing into his arms.

“Better?”

“Oh—mhm.” Armin nodded. Both of the boys faced away from one another. Armin looked down towards “his” jacket where Eren’s hands unsteadily rested. He expected Eren to let go, but his hands simply stayed resting on his abdomen. The crowd shuffled again, filling the space where Armin had been standing and keeping them pinned close to the wall.

A few more seconds passed and the elevator reached another stop. Most of the group on the elevator exited, opening up the space again. Armin began to step forward but was immediately pulled back by the jacket. He let out an inaudible gasp. “Eren?”

Eren let go of the jacket and shoved his hands into his shorts pockets. “Sorry, spaced out.”

“Ah,” Armin laughed nervously, taking a step to the side. His body became tense again as he waited for the elevator to stop.

The last ding as the elevator reached Floor 1 broke the deafening silence. Armin stepped forward first, hesitating slightly then exiting the elevator. Not feeling Eren’s presence behind him, he turned, only for Eren to pass him by as he did so. Armin couldn’t help but notice the scent of shampoo as he passed by. 

“Armin!”

Historia approached Armin, with Ymir following close behind.. “Where 's Eren?” she prompted. “He’s checking us out of the rooms I hope?” Armin spun around to see Eren leaving the hotel. 

“Uh, no just leave it to me. I’ll only take a minute.” The girls nodded and headed out towards the car, and Armin towards the front desk.

**𓆏𓆏𓆏𓆏𓆏**


End file.
